Sonia (Babich) Abrams

Abrams, Sonia (Babich) March 6, 1932-November 16, 2011. How does one distill a life well lived in the short paragraphs of an obituary? Mom was born in Elyria, Ohio to Harry and Fannie (Fritzi) Babich and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She met and fell in love with Howard Abrams and they married on July 8, 1951. Steve, Dan and Sharon were born of that union. Our dad died suddenly in September 1960; the following summer, at the tender age of 29 years, mom gathered up us kids, then ages 5, 7 & 9 years old, and moved us all to Scottsdale, Arizona. We moved back to Cleveland the next year and then in 1965 Mom said it was time to come back and so we moved to Phoenix in the summer of '65 and stayed. Mom was very active in community theater, performing in shows at Heights Temple in Cleveland, and then honing her comedic skills in too many plays to enumerate at Stagebrush Theater in Scottsdale and Phoenix Little Theater in the 1960s through 1980s and for the last 15 years, with the Sun City Players, both on stage and directing. Mom volunteered time with the Area Council on Aging, assisting the elderly with shopping and doctor appointments, and also was involved in presenting the bully avoidance program to school children. Mom worked hard to support her family while attending college in the evenings, first at Phoenix College, then Arizona State University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree. Not satisfied with that, Mom moved to Tucson where she studied for and earned her Master's in Education from the University of Arizona, specializing at the time in speech therapy and teaching deaf children. Mom taught English as a Second Language in the Washington School District for many years, retiring with a big grin on her face at the age of 60. Mom traveled extensively before and during her retirement, counting among her destinations Japan, Singapore, Holland, Nova Scotia, Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Greek Islands, and most recently, Israel. Remembering Mom with decades of memories and no shortness of laughter is her brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Alice Babich and their sons David and Phillip (Julie), Aunt Diane Wolf and family and cousin Linda Schulman and family; son Dan (Laura), daughter Sharon Kuller (Marty), daughter-in-law Joan Abrams (widow of our brother Steve), grandchildren Aaron Abrams, Howard Kuller, Zachary Abrams, Lauren Kuller Gates (David), Eric Abrams and Jessica Abrams, great-grandchildren Lukas and Gavin Gates, 21 first cousins and generations of extended family. Also remembering Mom are friends and fellow thespians, Lavina, Joyce, Gary, Dan and Anna and of course all of the Lunch Bunch. We invite Mom's friends to join our family on December 4, 2011 for a gathering to share an anecdote or favorite story at The Mountain View Recreation Center, 9749 N. 107th Avenue, Sun City, starting at 2:00. Please contact skuller@cox.net for directions. Dan and Sharon wish to extend their thanks and heartfelt gratitude to
and the caring members of Mom's team, without whom this time would have been much more difficult to navigate. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made in Mom's name to
or to Sunshine Services in Sun City.